Do We Have To "Call" On Jesus To Get To Heaven?

John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

Someone messaged me today, asking about Pastor Steven Anderson's church. They specifically wanted to know what I think about the ongoing doctrinal debate over whether a lost sinner needs to pray a prayer to get to Heaven, or can they just believe the Gospel?

First, I love and support Pastor Anderson, he is my brother in the ministry and I love the guy tremendously in Christ.

Second, I have listened to Pastor Anderson's sermons over the years. I heard him say years ago that he DOES believe a person can be saved without praying a prayer, but he just believes prayer in the Bible METHOD taught in the Bible. I am okay with his use of the Sinner's Prayer, as was used and taught by my hero of the faith, Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001). I only take issue when someone requires prayer to be saved, heretically teaching that you CANNOT be saved unless you pray. To my humble understanding, Pastor Anderson still believes that it is possible to be saved by simply believing, even though he wants his church members to use the Sinner's Prayer. I am fine with that. I don't think it is wrong to use the Sinner's Prayer.

However, I personally think it is not wise, because I struggled with the assurance of God's gift of salvation for several years after I got saved in 1980 at age 13. I was confused, wondering years later if I had left something out of my prayer. I knew that praying didn't save me, but I thought prayer was the vehicle by which you put your faith in God. I know I got saved at age 13, because the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit has been with me since. And in hindsight I now know and understand that I was saved by simply BELIEVING on Christ as my personal Savior, and nothing more.

Having said that, there is an inherent risk when leading lost sinners in prayer that they will misunderstand God's simple plan of salvation, which is to BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, that must include the admission that one is a guilty sinner (Romans 3:19-23), and the three facts of the Gospel itself (the GOOD NEWS) that Jesus died on a cross in our place to pay for our sins, and was buried, and then three days later He physically resurrected from the dead.

I humbly believe that Pastor Anderson is correct in his Gospel message. I am not aware of any place where he teaches that you cannot be saved without calling, asking or praying for God to save someone. I think there is much confusion among the followers of Pastor Anderson, who misunderstand his doctrinal position. As I mentioned, I heard Pastor Anderson myself teach that if anyone says you cannot be saved without praying, they are misrepresenting him; but he doesn't want any members of Faithful Word Baptist Church counting anyone as saved who doesn't pray a sinner's prayer. That is his prerogative as a pastor.

Albeit, I humbly do not agree with that, but that doesn't mean pastor Anderson is wrong. As he teaches concerning John chapter 4, and the Samaritan woman, Jesus told her that if she knew who He was, she would have "asked" Him to save her. So here is a biblical example of Jesus inviting someone to "ask" Him to save them. John 4:10, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”

Yet, in the case of Cornelius in Acts 10:42-43, the Apostle Peter preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his friends, and they simply BELIEVED what they heard. No one called, asked or prayed to be saved, they simply believed on Christ. So in the Bible we find BOTH examples of some people who asked and others who didn't. And to clarify, if you read John chapter 4, neither the Samaritan woman nor her townspeople ever asked or called upon the Savior, they simply BELIEVED on Him and were saved.

I think it is natural for a lost sinner to desire to call upon the Lord in prayer to be saved, but it is not required or necessary. Either way is fine I humbly think. The main thing is that a lost person is placing their whole childlike trust in the blessed crucified, buried and risen Savior. But to clarify, I firmly believe that anyone who DEMANDS that a lost sinner pray, call or ask to be saved is preaching another gospel. It is optional. I did call out in my soul at age 13 and ask Jesus to save me, but I could have just as easily believed on Him without calling and had been saved.

In Acts 16:30-31, when the Philippian jailer asked what he must do to be saved, "Paul and Silas answered: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." They didn't tell the Roman jailer to call, ask, turn, pray, confess or surrender control of his life over to Christ, they simply told him to BELIEVE on Christ. When Jesus was asked what "works of God" they must do to be saved, Jesus told the people who followed Him in John 6:28-29 to "BELIEVE ON HIM." Again, we find no requirement to call, ask or pray.

I love what Pastor Curtis Hutson said: "A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one." Romans chapter 10 is an obscure passage of Scripture, which is hotly debated. We have the entire Gospel of John teaching us to BELIEVE. It is bad Bible interpretation to focus on just John chapter 4. where Jesus invited the Samaritan woman to "ask" Him for the living water, when the entire Gospel of John simply invites the reader to BELIEVE ON JESUS.